AT times during his Liverpool career, Steven Gerrard has appeared over-burdened by the dual demands of captaincy and expectation.

As if it was not enough just to go out and deliver superlative performances week in and week out, there have been several occasions when he has also been asked to carry the hopes of England’s most successful club almost single-handedly.

While on international duty with England this week though, Gerrard revealed that he has never been more content with life at Anfield in the knowledge that he is finally part of a team which is battling it out for the league title, the prize he has longed for ever since he first broke into the Liverpool team as a teenager.

Though still very much first among equals, Gerrard is revelling in the fact that both the workload and responsibility are now being shared more evenly than ever before as Liverpool bid to peg back Manchester United’s lead at the top of the table.

“It’s an absolute privilege to captain this football club at any time but especially when the team is playing the way it is,” Gerrard told the ECHO.

“It makes my job an awful lot easier when you don’t have to talk too much to players because they are just doing their jobs without that being needed.

“Confidence is really high right now and we’re certainly enjoying playing together. We are playing without fear and without anxiety and I think you’re seeing some superb football from us in the last couple of weeks.

“From front to back everyone is pulling in the right direction for the team.”

While the majority of the headlines have been taken by Gerrard and Torres in recent weeks, the Reds skipper is adamant that the credit for Liverpool’s recent upsurge in form should be shared by the whole team.

With confidence in the ranks at a high, the usual suspects are flourishing alongside a supporting cast of unsung heroes who may not receive as many plaudits in the media but whose efforts are clearly valued by their captain.

So while Gerrard is delighted with his own form particularly on the goalscoring front with six strikes to his name in his last three matches he is quick to deflect the praise onto those members of Rafa Benitez’s squad who are not always afforded their time in the spotlight.

“The goals are coming and I’m certainly enjoying my football at the moment,” he said.

“I’m playing with magnificent players. Torres and myself have had a lot of pats on the back of late but it’s important to acknowledge our team mates who have been fantastic.

“That’s from the goalkeeper and the defence right through to the front.

“The two full backs have been magnificent lately, the centre backs have been the same. I could go right through the team and everyone is doing their job properly long may that continue and hopefully it will right up until the end of the season.

“If we keep playing the way we have been over the last three games then it’s going to be an exciting finish.”

With Liverpool now trailing the league leaders by just a single point – although United do still have a game in handŠ– their chances of remaining involved in the title race have improved immeasurably compared to just a month ago when a dispiriting defeat at Middlesbrough seemed to have ended their hopes altogether.

Three consecutive victories against Sunderland, United and most recently Aston Villa mean that their chances are now realistic enough for battle cries to be issued by all and sundry at Anfield.

The manner of last Sunday’s 5-0 battering of Villa was enough to send hopes soaring, particularly as it came just 24 hours after United had stumbled at Fulham.

Gerrard is just delighted to be in the mix and he believes that should Liverpool continue to meet the standards they set for themselves against Martin O’Neill’s side then we could be in for a very interesting end to the season.

“It was a perfect result, a great performance and another massive three points,” he said.

“Before the game we would’ve taken 1-0 but we ended up scoring five and it could even have been more.

“When you play in front of our supporters the expectations are really high. We are expected to blow teams away at Anfield every week but it doesn’t work like that. Throughout the season there are going to be times when it is difficult because you are not at your best and you have to grind out results.

“But against Villa we were magnificent from start to finish and we got our rewards in front of goal.

“It’s wide open but I think Man United are still favourites. Obviously the position they are in is better than ours and Chelsea’s but we have closed the gap and hopefully they will have another wobble in the future and we will pounce.”

In the summer, Gerrard is likely to be offered an extension to his current contract and he has already made it clear that he would like nothing more than to be able to further his time at Anfield.

But for the time being he just wants to continue being part of a team which is establishing itself as a major player at home and abroad. As such, contract talks are not at the top of his list of priorities at the moment.

“That’s not important at the moment,” he added. “What is important is that we keep winning football matches and we stay in this title race and try to progress in Europe.

“If the club wants to extend my deal, they know I want to stay so that’s in their court.”